Calculating structural properties of reversibly crosslinked polymer systems using self-consistent field theory

Abstract

We study the influence of reversible crosslinks on a polymer blend with the help of an extended self-consistent mean field theory. The systems consist of homopolymers of type A and B and copolymers of type AB. Copolymers AB are reversibly crosslinked with a crosslink strength z. The links include monomers of type A and B with weights ωA and ωB, respectively. Crosslinking of A and B polymers is prohibited. Without crosslinks the system shows a homogeneous phase, a lamellar phase, a hexagonal phase, and a fully demixed state. Setting ωA + ωB = 1, we find that the total crosslink strength z and the crosslink asymmetry Δω Ξ ωA - ωB has a distinct influence on the structure of the system. We show that the microstructure can be switched from a hexagonal to a lamellar structure by increasing z or Δ ω.